Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has presented Ottawa’s C$1.6 billion investment in artificial intelligence company Cohere as a national security measure, linking domestic AI capabilities to Canada’s ability to maintain control over strategically important technologies.
Speaking Thursday in Montreal ahead of the Canada-EU summit, Carney said the government was investing commercially alongside private backers, including Nvidia, Bell and Germany’s Schwarz Group. The announcement places AI financing within a wider effort to secure access to technologies and infrastructure that governments increasingly regard as essential to national sovereignty.
Cohere co-founder and chief executive Aidan Gomez announced the initial close of the company’s Series E funding round, which is targeting up to C$7 billion at a C$35.7 billion valuation. Those figures describe the round’s fundraising objective and valuation, rather than an announcement that the full target has already been raised.
Gomez joined Carney at Mila, the Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, for the Canadian portion of the announcement. He described AI as a defining technology and emphasized the importance of Canadians participating in its development and sharing in its benefits.
Carney’s argument extended beyond financing a single company. He grouped artificial intelligence with semiconductors, critical minerals, payment systems, clean energy technology, vaccines and space-based communications as capabilities to which sovereign countries need secure access. His remarks framed the investment as a way for Canada to help shape AI development rather than depend entirely on decisions made abroad.
The announcement also formed part of a broader diplomatic push with Europe. Carney was scheduled to meet European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President António Costa on Friday, with AI among the subjects for the Canada-EU talks.
In a separate Montreal speech before the summit, von der Leyen highlighted the multibillion-dollar merger between Cohere and Germany’s Aleph Alpha in April as an example of closer technological cooperation between Canada and Europe. She also outlined an intention to collaborate on AI safety and security, rules, standards and international governance.
The financing and diplomatic discussions address different but related aspects of AI policy. Investment supports the companies developing the technology, while standards and governance establish expectations for how systems are built and used. Secure access also involves more than model development: AI systems depend on computing hardware and the infrastructure needed to train and operate them. Carney’s inclusion of semiconductors alongside AI reflected that broader technological dependency.
The summit took place against a backdrop of economic threats from U.S. President Donald Trump toward both Canada and Europe. Asked whether the gathering could prompt retaliation, Carney rejected the suggestion that this should deter the talks, saying the process served Canadian interests and that the United States would ultimately recognize that.
Sources: POLITICO Europe – Tech